Creating teen health movements: Disseminating public health messages through influential teens

truth® often represents the “gold standard” of health campaigns aimed at teens. Most subsequent campaigns, however, have not been as successful at engaging teens to communicate messages, despite the recent explosion of new media. According to a national survey conducted in 2006, 13-18 year-olds spend, on average, 3.8 hours per week on the computer. To many teens, the computer is a vital means of communication, to stay in touch with friends locally and Internet-wide. But, can public health campaigns find a way to engage today's teens to effectively disseminate public health messages?

This poster presentation posits that TeenHealth NetFluencers may be the answer. We examine how these individuals differ from other 13-18 year-olds in terms of demographics, traditional and new media use, interest in health, and health behavior.

TeenHealth NetFluencers are 13-18 year-olds who have large social networks and regularly are asked for their advice about health issues (10.3% of 13-18 year-olds). These teens are also influential in that 94.8% make friends easily, and they are more likely than their peers to be the first to try new products, music, or clothes.

Moreover, they are likely to share positive health attitudes with their friends. About three-quarters (73.8%) are very interested in eating a healthy diet, and on average, they report doing more physical activity than their peers (4.3 days/week vs. 3.5 days/week).

Public health communications can tap into the power of these influential teens to promote health messages by better understanding them and their new media habits.